1. Field of the Invention
invention relates to a handle attachment for a chest drainage unit and relates more specifically to a handle attachment for capturing a pair of hangers of a chest drainage unit to allow for easy, one-handed, transport within a medical facility by appropriate medical personnel.
2. Description of Related Art
Chest drainage units (CDUs) are used to collect and measure fluids and other materials from a patient's chest during and after surgery and as a result of injury to the patient's chest. It is important to be able to safely transport such units within a medical facility without tipping or spilling the liquid and other materials from the container. It is also beneficial for medical personnel to be able to transport the CDUs with the use of only one hand so that their second or other hand is available to open doors and/or hold other miscellaneous equipment associated with the CDU.
During use, many CDUs are suspended by a pair of hangers from a bedside rail. Referring to FIG. 1, a typical CDU is shown and designated at 10. A pair of rigid hangers 12 and 14 connect CDU 10 to a bedrail 16 (shown in dashed outline) or similar such support. Usually, the pair of hangers 12 and 14 support the CDU 10 on a bedrail from opposite ends of a top surface 18 at mounts 20 and 22, respectively of CDU 10 as shown in FIG. 1.
Hangers 12 and 14 typically would have a distal curved end 24 that would extend around the bedrail 16 or such similar support, and a proximal pivot end 26 that is pivotally attached to the CDU 10 at mounts 20 and 22, respectively. The term "proximal" is meant to refer to that end of the hanger which is closest to the CDU and "distal" to that end of the hanger which is farthest from the CDU. The hangers 12 and 14 are allowed to rotate on their pivot end 26 in all directions such that the curved end 24 of hangers 12 and 14 can move in generally parallel directions or towards and away from each other as is needed.
When transporting the CDU 10, the unit can be carried from underneath its body by two hands or each of the curved ends 24 of hangers 12 and 14 can be grasped to support the unit. Medical personnel could attempt to grasp both curved ends 24 of hangers 12 and 14 in one hand, however, this has been found to be difficult because when the CDU is full of liquid it weighs approximately ten pounds and the hangers 12 and 14 will bite into the carrier's hand sufficiently to cause discomfort. It is therefore, desirable to provide a handle attachment for readily grasping the ends of hangers 12 and 14 to allow medical personnel to transport the CDU with the use of only one hand in a safe manner.
Various prior art devices have utilized a molded handle in the top surface of the CDU for transporting the CDU. However, such a design would require that a specialized mold be made to form the body of such a CDU which would entail a significant expense. Furthermore, when transporting a CDU having a molded handle in its top surface (not shown), the hangers 12 and 14 are left to dangle at the sides of the CDU thereby creating a significant danger of having the curved hanger ends 24 catching on foreign objects while the CDU is being transported through the medical facility.